The rules of conduct at board meetings shall apply to all matters under consideration by the board except for ceremonial matters and are as follows:
(a) Board members shall treat MTA staff members and each other with respect and courtesy.
(b) Disagreements shall not result in personal comments or attacks against an MTA staff member or another board member.
(c) When any member is recognized to speak at a board meeting, the board member shall address the chair.
(d) When two or more members address the chair at the same time, the chair shall name the member who is to be the first to speak.
(e) When speaking, a member shall confine his or her remarks to the topic under debate or discussion.
(f) Each member, in the order recognized by the chair, shall have not more than five minutes to speak.
(g) Answers to questions asked by a member shall be counted against the member’s five minutes.
(h) Once having recognized a member to speak, the chair shall not recognize that member to be heard again, except to answer questions, until all other board members have had an opportunity to speak.
(i) All members shall have an opportunity to speak before the chair may enter the discussion.
(j) After all members desiring to speak have had an opportunity to be heard once, the time for each member desiring to speak again, or for the first time, shall be limited to a maximum of three minutes.
(k) There shall be no limit to the number of times a member is allowed to speak.
(l) The secretary shall time the members when discussion of an issue begins and notify the chair when a member’s time has expired.
(Added by Stats. 1997, Ch. 900, Sec. 8. Effective January 1, 1998.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018